New Jersey school board drops ‘cheese sandwich’ rule for students

The Board of Education agreed it will no longer serve cheese sandwiches to students who forget to bring their lunch card to school. After board member Beth Holtzman complained last spring that reprimanding students with food was not the way to discipline children, school administrators reconsidered the practice.

The board agreed at its meeting on June 24 that starting in September, students who forget to bring their ID cards would simply go to the back of the line and eat the same lunch as their peers.

According to Business Administrator Terri Nowotny, it takes food service workers a bit longer to look up the child’s name in the computer system to properly charge their account, while other students are waiting in line.

“It holds up the line and there’s not that much time to get everyone served,” Nowotny said.

In other business, the board approved a one-year contract for Nowotny to continue to serve as business administrator at a salary of $96,852 – 2 percent more than last year. This will be Nowotny’s third year with the district. She will be eligible for tenure in her fourth year.

The board also transferred $500,000 in anticipated surplus to its capital reserve and maintenance reserve accounts. The funds can be used for capital projects that are not part of the district’s long-range facilities plan.

“There are quite a few things that need to be addressed. If we set this money aside now, it will be there when we need it and we won’t have to increase the tax levy,” Nowotny said.

The district transferred only $50,000 to the capital reserve account last year, but the account has been dwindling over the last several years to cover the cost of repairing the roof, HVAC and emergency generator, she said.

“Lately, we’ve been spending it more than we have been reserving it,” Nowotny said.